The present invention relates to a method for attaching an electrically conductive sheet to a developer sealing member used to seal an opening with which a developer container is provided to release developer. An electrically conductive sheet is used, for example, to detect whether the developer sealing member is open. A developer container is placed in, for example, a developer cartridge or a process cartridge, which is removably mountable in the main assembly of an image forming apparatus.
Here, an image forming apparatus includes an apparatus which forms an image on recording medium with the use of, for example, an electrophotographic image forming system. As examples of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, there are an electrophotographic copying machine, an electrophotographic printer (for example, laser beam printer, LED printer, and the like), a facsimile apparatus, a word processor, and the like.
A process cartridge means a cartridge in which at least one among a charging means, a developing means, and a cleaning means, and a photosensitive member, are integrally placed, and which is removably mountable in the main assembly of an image forming apparatus.
Conventionally, an image forming apparatus which employs an electrophotographic image formation process also employs a process cartridge system. According to a process cartridge system, an electrophotographic photosensitive member, and a single or plural processing means, which act on an electrophotographic photosensitive member, are integrally placed in a cartridge which is removably mountable in the main assembly of an image forming apparatus. Also according to the process cartridge system, an image forming apparatus can be maintained by users themselves without relying on service personnel, and therefore, operational efficiency can be drastically improved. As a result, a process cartridge system is widely used in the field of the image forming apparatus.
The developer releasing opening of the developer (toner) containing portion of the above described process cartridge is sealed with a toner sealing member. A toner sealing member is removed to release the developer into a developing means containing portion. As for a method for removing a toner sealing member, there are a method in which a toner sealing member is pulled off by a user, and a method in which one end of a toner sealing member is fixed to a winding shaft, and the toner sealing member is automatically wound away by the driving force transmitted from the image forming apparatus main assembly.
The above-described methods for removing a toner sealing member also apply to a developer cartridge.
Thus, a method has been sought for detecting whether the developer releasing opening of a developer containing portion is entirely exposed when a toner sealing member is automatically removed. For this purpose, it has been a common practice that an electrically conductive portion which is severed as the toner sealing member is removed is formed on a toner sealing member, and whether the developer releasing opening is entirely exposed is detected by reading the condition of the electrically conductive portion, on the image forming apparatus main assembly side. However, the electrically conductive portion is an extremely thin sheet of electrically conductive material, such as aluminum foil, coated with adhesive, and therefore, tends to plastically deform when it is separated from a separation sheet, or in the like situations. Therefore, a conventional method for pasting an electrically conductive portion onto a toner sealing member, without deforming the electrically conductive portion, and with a high degree of positional accuracy, requires a substantial number of steps, which in turn results in a high cost.
The primary object of the present invention is to provide a method for pasting an electrically conductive sheet on a developer sealing member and a developer holding portion, with a high degree of positional accuracy, without plastically deforming the electrically conductive sheet.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon consideration of the following description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.